Your Therapist Was Right (Sorry)

If you have any kind of mental or physical illness, you have assuredly been told to exercise away your symptoms. While it’s obviously not a simple and complete fix for any issue, it does, unfortunately, help quite a bit.

While therapy and medication are crucial components of mental wellness, adding movement into your day can be a powerful supplement in your treatment.

One of HBH’s inspiring therapists, Shavon Meyers, shares her advice, expertise, and her own wellness goals with us:

The Harsh Truth

For many people, exercise is a chore. It can be boring, painful, and exhausting, and can take up the already little free time people have.

But a body in motion, stays in motion.

While wallowing in bed is kind of nice sometimes, your joints need movement to stay lubricated, your adrenal glands want to stop making cortisol so you can get quality sleep, and your heart wants to shed some pounds and get ripped for bikini season!

When your physical body is not at peak operating conditions, your brain will feel it in the form of depression and anxiety. And the more depressed and anxious you are, the more your corporeal flesh-prison suffers. 

Practicing What She Preaches

Few people embody this mind-body connection as fully as Shavon Meyers.

Shavon Meyers is a licensed therapist working with Handel Behavioral Health. Her work centers around supporting diverse populations, including BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities, and individuals seeking a more personalized approach to therapy.

Her own journey with fitness began growing up in New York City, where walking everywhere was simply part of life. In college, she discovered the gym as a stress-relief tool; Exercise helped her have better focus, less brain fog, and less anxiety.

Shavon believes strongly in practicing self-care for herself as well. “If we’re not doing what we preach,” she explained, “it’s hard to show up fully for clients.” For her, fitness is a way of pouring into herself so she can continue pouring into others.

As a therapist, Shavon knows mental health care should not just be about referencing a manual. It’s about connection, emotional release, and real-world coping skills. One of the coping tools she consistently encourages is movement.

Normalize the Hard Days

One of Shavon’s biggest messages is that it’s perfectly normal to be inconsistent. She knows the feeling of coming home tired after work, not wanting to drive to the gym, and just skipping a workout entirely. But showing up imperfectly still counts.

Shavon acknowledges that fitness is not effortless, but it is about persistence. Some days require more mental than physical effort, and that requires a level of self-accountability.

She wants people to understand that struggling does not mean failing; it simply means you’re human.

Schedule Workouts Like Therapy Appointments

Shavon encourages people to treat workouts the same way they would treat therapy sessions, meetings, or doctor’s appointments.

If it’s not scheduled, it’s easier to pretend you never planned on going to the gym.

Blocking off time removes the daily negotiation of “Should I go?” and replaces it with commitment.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

Shavon advises starting small and going at your own pace. Even adding 30 minutes a day of walking — not even all at once! — can have positive impacts on your mind and heart health.

Exercise often gets a bad wrap as most people think of lifting weights, running, or those P90x videos from the 2000s. But it can be whatever you make it. It can mean yoga when you’re feeling low, playing volleyball when you need to release frustration, or a hot-girl-walk when your mind feels restless.

The key to consistency is finding something that you enjoy. Once movement becomes part of your routine, it feels less optional and more foundational to your wellbeing.

Hire An Accountant

Accountability has played a major role in Shavon’s own journey. Working with a trainer helped her learn proper form, gain confidence using weight machines, and feel more secure in the gym.

She emphasizes that asking for help is not weakness. She tells people to take advantage of gyms that offer introductory sessions or free consultations.

Finding a gym buddy can also be a win-win to holding each other accountable, as well as making the trip to the gym a part of your social routine as well.

For those who prefer home workouts, online videos can provide structure and guidance. Hearing someone say, “You can hold it 5 more seconds!” can be the difference between giving up and keeping going.

Modeling What She Preaches

Shavon recently stepped into a new arena: the Miss Health & Fitness competition. The event is run in partnership with HERS Magazine and raises funds for the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, which provides financial assistance to families navigating childhood cancer.

While winning would be great, Shavon is excited to have a platform to show that women can really do it all — a therapist, mother, entrepreneur, model, and have biceps.

Ranking in the top five has required persistence, humility, and consistency— and she needs your help to pull through to the end!

By donating to the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, you’ll get 1 vote per dollar donated, as well as free votes every day! You can vote for Shavon on the Ms. Health and Fitness website.

Looking for a Therapist in Massachusetts?

And if you like what Shavon preaches, you can contact us today at  (413) 343-4357 or request an appointment online with her or our other compassionate therapists online or in-person from our Massachusetts offices in Amherst, Wilbraham, West Springfield, Franklin, or Natick.

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